How Did Kylie Jenner Get Her Leg Scar? The Story Is Surprisingly Gruesome

Most celebs strive to look "perfect" at all times, and Kylie Jenner certainly seems to be one of them. The star is often changing her look and always keeping up with trends. However, this beauty mogul and socialite has one defining feature that will never change: the massive scar on her leg. While Jenner may seem like the first person to reject a perceived physical imperfection, the star actually embraces her scar, even calling it "a loyal friend."

Jenner certainly had to grow up fast; she was just nine years old when her family's reality series "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" premiered in 2007. While a lot has changed since then, Jenner carries one link to her childhood with her to this day. Jenner hasn't hidden her scar away over the years; she even went as far as to proudly display it on the front of GQ. In 2018, Jenner graced the magazine's cover with then-boyfriend, rapper Travis Scott. In the photo, Kylie looks like the spitting image of her sister, Kim Kardashian, but besides having Jenner's beau on her arm, there's one clear indication of which member of the Kardashian-Jenner clan she really is — her leg scar is front and center. 

Because of its prominence, the cover brought a lot of attention to Jenner's scar. She had already opened up, though, about how a game of hide and seek with her sister, Kendall Jenner, left her with the scar when she was just five years old.

In a 2011 Q&A with fans, Kylie Jenner addressed her scar and went into all the gory details about how she got it — literally. "When I was about 5 my sister [Kendall Jenner] and I were playing hide and seek and I hid inside this really tall, enclosed gate," Jenner recalled, per Entertainment Tonight. "After a while when my sister didn't find me I had to climb up on this sharp pole sticking out from the gate. I slipped and the pole went into my leg. I tried pulling away to get the pole out but it just tore through my whole leg," the star explained, adding that the scar is "smaller now though because I grew!"

Beyond sharing her memory of the game of hide and seek gone wrong that earned Jenner her scar, she has also been outspoken on social media about her appreciation for this little reminder of her childhood. In 2015, she posted a photo of her leg to Instagram with the simple caption "I love my scar." Then in 2021, she paid homage to her scar once again on her Instagram story (via Elle). With a close-up pic of her left thigh, Jenner wrote, "My scar has been a loyal friend, I forget about him sometimes."

Kylie Jenner has certainly been open over the years about her love for her scar, but baring it all sans Photoshop on the cover of GQ proved just how proud of this little mark she really is. While the scar hasn't been left unedited in every photoshoot she has done, fans were thrilled when she put it on full display. On GQ's post of the cover on X, formerly known as Twitter, one fan commented, "The only thing that has caught my eye is that scar. I love the fact that they didn't airbrush that out. Way to go GQ!" Another X user wrote, "I am happy to see a scar so prominently on display (not even [minimized] with airbrushing.)... It's a big step forward for those of us with many #scars who only see perfect skin on others."

Many of us have visible scars, but we don't often see celebrities proudly showing off their own. It's really no surprise that people love seeing Jenner's scar out in the open, especially since she is known for seemingly always attempting to look flawless. Fans' reactions should show her that authenticity is more than welcome and that showing off who you really are can have a much more positive impact than constantly striving for perfection.